This week has been one of my favorite weeks on the mission...I can't even begin to describe how special it has been and I'm kind of scared to talk about it too much, like it'll go away the more I try to talk about it. So I won't share a lot (for the sake of time as well), but here are a couple of the beautiful things that happened this week. Now that I think about it, it truly was a week of miracles:)

1. Sister Armin. Sister Armin is one of our less-actives that have been less-active pretty much since last year after her baptism. Her neighbors have told us that she's still drinking and swearing, and sometimes when we go to her house she hides from us. Over last transfer though (6 weeks), she's slowly warmed up to us though and has opened up to us about her life and struggles. Her husband never gives her money and she sometimes has a hard time feeding her 9 kids, or even buying soap to wash their clothes. But this week, we've seen such a huge change in her!! Her heart has been softened, her countance and everything has changed. And guess what? Yesterday she came to church!!! Her oldest son got a job, and gave her 35 pesos (less than a dollar in America), and she chose to come to church!!! I love her so much!!!

2. Sister Anicia. Like I said last week, her husband passed away. She's been out of town for the funeral, so we haven't got to teach her but we text her every night and share a scripture through text. On Friday was our weekly planning, and we turned to her teaching record, and suddenly I just started to cry. I looked over and Sister Ioane was crying as well. The spirit is so strong and I know that we are not alone in this work, that her husband will be helping US help her accept the gospel, and hopefully with her entire family. It was so so special.

3. Empathy. One of my leaders before I left on my mission gave me a little metal pendant with an angel on it. He said that during my mission he hoped I wouldn't learn just about charity but about empathy as well. The poverty here in the Philippines is heart-breaking sometimes, and sometimes it's so hard because there's nothing I can do to help except teach. But this week, I've come to understand them at least a little bit better, even though I know I am still far from it. We've been a little sick, a little tight budget wise, but whenever I think about complaining or taking a break, I think about our courageous members here that continue on in faith and love for their Savior and their families. We're supposed to be the teachers, but I feel sometimes that I'm learning a lot more from THEM. They're incredible.

Sorry it's simple, I'll tell ya'll about it someday- it's hard to fit all this into a simple email! But I know with all my heart that Christ lives. He is our Savior. We are witnesses of Him. I love with all my heart and will never deny it.

Sorry I don't have a lot of time to write- I've been enjoying reading about all your adventures, and lost track of time haha. But here is a part of the letter I wrote to President Clark. Today was a good week and I love being a disciple of Jesus Christ. I also love the Book of Mormon so much. My testimony of it has grown tons this week. I love you all and I know this is the work of God. I also know that even when we make mistakes, or when people reject us, that that's ok. It happened to even the best of missionaries. I was reading about Lehi's dream and thought about that- Lehi was a prophet, but even his own sons wouldn't listen to him. But he still continued to be a prophet. People even rejected Jesus Christ, but He was still the Savior. People may reject us or we may fall short, but we're still missionaries.

And so anyways, to the letter...

Yesterday was one of my favorite days here in Baler so far. We didn't have any investigators come to church, and at first I was a little disappointed, but as I sat before the meeting, I just felt Heavenly Father's love for me and that everything was ok. of course I am not perfect, but He knows I tried and at the end of the day, that's all we can ask. But I was so happy yesterday because even though we didn't have any investigators, 4 of our LA's came!!!! And they were so happy to be there!! I was so happy for them and there were a lot of people there as well. 125!! That's 125 souls that fought off the dregs of the world yesterday morning and listened to the good word of God. And our classes were wonderful too:)

After church, Sister Punzalan invited us to lunch at her house and then we had our studies. After that as we got ready for work, we knew that one sister had said she'd be coming to work with us, so we were just waiting for her, but when she got there she brought 3 other members!!! We went on splits and all our lessons were wonderful! I felt the spirit so strongly and I LOVE working with the members. There's something so special about sitting in a humble, small house in a tiny town kind of far-away from anything else, listening to the ocean a little ways away and talking about the truths of the kingdom. We taught investigators, and our last lesson was to a LA- and again, I felt unity, genuine love, and strength as we sat under a single light bulb, discussing what we can do individually to fight off the temptations of Satan.

There's a lot of sin here in Baler. I guess there's a lot of sin everywhere, but I know that for every minute a person spends reading the scriptures, praying, sharing the gospel and overcoming the natural man, Satan's power if pushed away just a little bit more. I also realized that as missionaries, especially 2 foreign, young missionaries, we NEED the members. This isn't just about the numbers of LMPs either- but it's for us all to be strengthened. As a unit, as investigators, personally...we need one another and we can't do this alone and I'm embarrassed for thinking that I could do it alone. So it's our goal this week to really work with the members now:)

But I love you all so much! thank you for your love and prayers- Anicia's husband passed away on Thursday. He was only 49 but had bone cancer in his hip, so if you could pray for her especially, that would be a great help to her.

Take care and always remember that this is the true church, God loves you and salvation is within our reach if we endure to the end.

I'm sorry if these emails are starting to sound all the same... the weeks are going by so fast and there's so many things going through my head that I can't sort them out well enough to explain them well in an email haha!!

This week has been good though. We've got to work with the members a little bit more this week and I love them so much! Some missionaries before have said there's a special spirit here in Baler because it's so far away from everything and they're right- the branch is small, the zone is small (only 5 companionship), and so we're all very close and united as we do our best to live and share the gospel here. It's funny actually because we went to San Jose on Thursday (a big city) for zone conference, and I felt like a turtle coming out of its shell...it feels like such a long time since I've seen tall buildings or fast food or so many people. It was so funny! I was happy to return to nice little Baler:)

Our investigators are doing great, even though we don't have a lot of them right now. One of them, Sister Anicia, is so cute. She's about 45 and has 4 kids and one grandchild that lives with them. Even though she's the only one they're teaching, she's switched ALL their coffee out out for hot chocolate and is even telling her neighbors about it. The other day we taught her neighbor the very first lesson with Sister Anicia sitting in, and Sister Anicia couldn't wait to tell her about the Word of Wisdom and the Book of Mormon. She's so cute:)

We also just started teaching Ryan, a friend of one of our less actives. He's so funny and sweet and is so excited about the church. I know that Heavenly Father definitely guides us to people who are ready to accept the gospel and that we just need to do our part and He will give:)

Last week I was struggling a little bit with a bit of "home-distractedness". Not really home-sickness, but I don't know if it was because I hit my halfway mark or what, but my mind was definitely home while my body was still here. It wasn't good, but I couldn't get myself to let it go. But Heavenly Father is so merciful and patient and at zone conference, President Clark talked about controlling our thoughts. It was just what I needed to here, and since then, I'm happy to report that my mind is safely and happily back here in the Philippines. I'm sure this is something that happens to all missionaries, but to everyone I would just counsel to just don't let those thoughts in. You can do it!!! Besides, I'm only here for 18 months...time is too fast to worry about things that we'll still be at home when I come back.

But love you all and thank you for your prayers and love!! I pray for ya'll as well and I also just want to encourage you to WORK WITH THE MISSIONARIES!!! Not just because they need numbers, but because YOU need THEM too. I promise you will learn new things, be strengthened and be happier as you immerse yourself in the gospel and especially with sharing it with others:)

Sorry, this email will just be a little short. We had a zone activity earlier today and it was so awesome that we don’t have a lot of time for much else today haha!

This week was awesome though. It went by too fast thought! I have to admit, I went through so many emotions that I can’t really even pinpoint anything exact to tell ya’ll. But don’t worry, it was awesome.

I’ll just say that I know this Church is true. That’s why we’re here as missionaries right? Because we know that a young boy prayed as a 14 year old in rural New York and saw Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. And from that, the true church of Jesus Christ was restored again on earth. The Book of Mormon is truly a second witness of Christ. I know it is true as well. I know these things, and I rely on my testimony. No matter how hard the day was, no matter how many mistakes I made, at least I know these things are true.

I also know that all of us are so important to Heavenly Father and that He wants nothing more than for us to return to Him again. The gospel is for EVERYONE! We just need to open our heart and listen for Him. Be humble enough to accept the invitation to ask Heavenly Father for the truth. But HE LOVES YOU!!! Don’t forget that:)

So sorry this is short, but things are still good here. “Buhay pa!”(Still alive!)hahaha:)

I love you all and thanks for everything. If you’d like, please pray for Baler branch and our investigators (Sister Anicia and Sister Jhena), we need as much help as we can get:)

With tons and tons of love,

Sister Allen

P.S. Oh, and if you were wondering, for our zone activity we went to a water fall called Mother Falls. It was so pretty and it felt great to hike again! The worst part though was that we can’t swim!! Oh the agony! Hahaha. We also went to a giant, old tree called the Millennium tree. It’s the oldest Balete tree in Asia. Sabrina, you would have loved it. I’ll send pictures next week, but look it up on google.

Kumusta po kayo lahat? I hope everyone's happy! As in I sincerely hope everyone is doing great and having the time of their lives, wherever you are. I love you all so much and pray for you all the time. Just know that:)

This week went by fast! It was great- I learned a lot, we're working hard and everyday my testimony is strengthened. It's so neat to learn new things from our own lessons! I know that sounds funny, but as we teach, either the Holy Ghost confirms again these truths that we teach or I realize new things about the gospel that I hadn't realized before:) It's super super neat:)

This week I want to talk about families. My family. Your families. Every family.

The other day we had an opportunity to visit an active family here in our branch. They have 9, (soon to be 10) children and they live in some of the humblest situations I've ever seen. Dirt floor, a tin roof that sometimes leaks...I cant describe it.Yet they are so faithful. They pay their tithing every week and are faithful to their temple covenants. The father is a counselor in the branch presidency. After their lesson I went to sleep thinking about all the blessings I have in my life and my family. I'll be honest, our families pretty well off- we have a nice house, cars, we can go on vacations...but here is this family in the Philippines that have so little money that they really have to save to have money for their fare to go halfway across town for church and they can't even afford soy sauce for their food. So I was just thinking about them and what I could give them. If I could do anything, it would be to take them all to Lake Powell (our families favorite camping place) and spend a week with them there because I know their kids would love it and it would be a blast, but of course I can't. So what can I give them? What can I give to all these families here? What can WE give to all these families and people here on earth? Well, one thing that I do have that I can give is the opportunity for them to be with their family forever. That's what I can see in their eyes when I talk with that family- that even though it's sooo hard, they struggle, they pray...they are so filled with hope and faith for eternal life. That it's coming and one day they will all live together in the kingdom of their Heavenly Father. And when it all comes down to it- that's what we have. right? No matter where we are in the world, how much money we have, who we are...the one thing that unites us and that we all share at the very core of who we are is this:

WE ARE CHILDREN OF A HEAVENLY FATHER. WE HAVE THE CHANCE TO LIVE WITH OUR LOVED ONES FOREVER. NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS, NO MATTER WHAT TRIALS OR HEARTACHES WE FACE NOW....THEY WILL BE MADE UP. I PROMISE. ACTUALLY GOD PROMISES.

So hold on. Don't give up. We'll be together forever IF we are faithful and follow the commandments a loving God has given for us to qualify for His kingdom. I love this gospel with all my heart. I love all God's children. I love YOU. So so very much.

Thank you for everything, again, all I want, and all God wants, is for you to be happy, because you matter so so much to Him.

Take care always,

Mahal ko kayo,Sister Allen

P.S. I also just want to say that I know this church is true and that the gospel is here to help us. This is not a work of numbers, but of souls and people and I love this people so so very much with a love I've never had before. I've only been here for about 2 weeks, but I love them so much my heart hurts.

I'm also grateful for repentance. I'm not a perfect missionary and I know we're all not perfect people, but thankfully we have a perfect Atonement that allows us to start over everyday, every minute if we need to:)

And I'm also grateful for my testimony. Sometimes people don't want to listen or they deny the Holy Ghost, but I'm just so grateful that even if they don't want it or don't know about it, at least I do.